Josh Donaldson's 4-for-4 Lifts A's over Astros; Mike Minor blanks Mets, Homers as Atlanta Rolls to 8th Straight

Players of the Day for Saturday, May 25, 2013

American League

Maybe this season wasn't exactly the right time for the Houston Astros to switch from the National to the American League. Their few successes have been mere footnotes in an 18-35 start to the season. They trail the Rangers by 18 games in the West division.

Donaldson: HR, 4-4

On Saturday, they dropped their second straight, at home, to Oakland, as the A's battered five Houston pitchers for 18 hits in an 11-5 beat-down.

The A's got off early, scoring six runs in the second inning and four more in the fourth. Pacing Oakland was third baseman, Josh Donaldson, who clubbed his eighth homer of the season in the midst of a 4-for-4 game, adding two singles and a double.

Donaldson scored two of Oakland's runs and drove in a pair, raising his batting average to .322, 10th in the league.

The A's have been the only team in the division to somewhat keep pace with the red-hot Rangers, who have the best record in the majors, at 32-17. Oakland is 5 1/2 back.

Oakland will be seeking a sweep of Houston on Sunday, at 2:10 pm EDT.

National League

Mike Minor

With Mike Minor on the mound, the Braves didn't need much offense to take their second straight from the Mets and eighth in a row, overall.

Minor shut out the Mets on three hits over 7 1/3 innings and broke open a scoreless tie in the fifth with a two-run homer, his first of the season, helping the Braves roll to a 6-0 win.

Minor, 6-2, struck out 10 and walked three, throwing 113 pitches before turning the ball over to the bullpen.

In his fourth year with the Braves, Minor is having his best season, posting a 2.34 ERA and an 0.93 WHIP with 61 strikeouts, having fanned 19 in his last 13 1/3 innings.

The Braves lead the NL East by 5 1/2 over the Nationals, with Philadelphia another game back. The Mets have fallen eight games off the pace and will try to avoid being swept on Sunday, when they conclude their series with the Braves, at 8:00 pm EDT at Citi Field.

STREAKERS: Besides the Braves' eight-game winning streak, other teams have also been on tears. The Angels have won seven straight, but still trail Texas in the AL West by 10 games. In the same division, Seattle has lost eight straight and dropped into fourth place, 12 out. The Cubs are challenging Miami - losers of four in a row - for the worst record in the NL. Chicago has dropped their last six.

Today's Trivia: Who was the last American Leaguer to win the MVP Award in consecutive seasons?

Yesterday's Answer: Starlin Castro, of the Cubs was the only NL player to appear in all 162 games in 2012.

Grand Slam, 6 RBI by Alex Rios Keeps White Sox in First Place; Mike Minor Dominates Rockies in 1-0 Braves Win

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 5, 2011

American League

Rios: GS, 6 RBI

While the battle in the AL East between the Yankees, Orioles and Rays has captured baseball headlines over the past week, the AL Central fight between the White Sox and Tigers might be even more intriguing because the loser is probably not going to the post-season as a wild card.

Chicago has held the lead in the division since before the all star break, but it's been a slim one. The Tigers keep nipping at their heels and remain one game off the pace as Detroit took care of Cleveland, 7-1, while the White Sox took the rubber game of their home series with the Twins by a 6-2 score.

Jake Peavy evened his record at 10-10, but Alex Rios was the real story, driving in all six of Chicago's runs with a first inning grand slam and a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

That gave Rios 22 homers on the year and 82 RBI to go with 20 steals and a .298 batting average, well on his way to his most productive season in his eight-year major league career.

After a day off Thursday, the White Sox host Kansas City for three games before opening a critical four-game series with the Tigers in Chicago beginning Monday. Likewise, the Tigers have Thursday off, but face a more onerous task as they travel to play three against the Angels prior to the series with the Sox.


National League

Blasting six homers, the Nationals clubbed the Cubs, 9-1, and Atlanta kept pace in the NL East with a gutsy, 1-0, win over the Rockies.

Minor: 7IP 1H 0 ER

Mike Minor (8-10) earned the win, taking a no-hitter through six full innings, spoiled by Jordan Pacheco, who singled to left center leading off the seventh.

No damage was done, but Minor sat after throwing 108 pitches, walking four and fanning seven. Criag Kimbrel picked up his 33rd save, getting the final four outs, all on strikeouts.

The Braves remain the #1 wild card with a three game lead over St. Louis, but trail the Nationals by 7 1/2 in the division.

Atlanta has taken two of three from the visiting Rockies, and finish up their four-game series on Thursday afternoon. The Braves will get only one more crack at the front-running Nats, hosting a three-game series September 14-16.

Ricky Romero Goes Distance, Shuts Out Oakland; MIke Minor, Craig Kimbrel Shut Down Giants

Players of the Day for Thursday, August 18, 2011

American League

Another season of frustration in Toronto heads into the final stretch, as the Blue Jays once again find themselves in the lower tier of the AL East division, 12 games behind the first place Yankees despite riding a three-game win streak that has them at 64-60.

Ricky Romero

Opening a four game series in Oakland, Ricky Romero was on the mound for the Jays, displaying his enormous talent with a three-hit shutout of the A's, as Toronto built him a sizable lead and eventually prevailed, 7-0.

Improving to 12-9 with his fifth straight win, Romero gave up a couple of walks and struck out six A's. It was his fourth complete game and second shutout of the season, needing just 111 pitches to go the distance.

With an ERA of 2.73, Romero give the Blue Jays hope for the future. Just three years into his major league career, Romero is poised to possibly become one of baseball's elite hurlers.

His emergence would be a boost, since Toronto has plenty of power in its lineup. Their 145 homers have them tied with Texas with the third most in the AL. The Yankees lead the league with 163 bombs; the Red Sox are second, at 150.

National League

Minor: 9 Ks

Chipper Jones' 5th inning solo homer off San Francisco starter Tim Lincecum was all the Atlanta pitching staff needed to take the finale of their four game series against the Giants, 1-0, winning three of four and cementing themselves as the front-runner in the wild card race and a formidable foe come the playoffs.

Kimbrel: 37 Saves

Atlanta starter Mike Minor out-dueled Lincecum, delivering six scoreless innings before giving the ball over to the bullpen, which blanked the Giants on one hit the rest of the way.

Minor allowed four hits and a walk, striking out nine Giants. The Braves fanned 12 would-be hitters in the game.

Eric O'Flaherty worked a solid 7th inning, allowing just one hit. Johnny Venters got through the 8th without surrendering a hit and Craig Kimbrel fanned two in a perfect 9th inning for his league-leading 37th save. Kimbrel has struck out 96 batters in 60 2/3 innings. Both he and Minor are rookies on a very youthful Atlanta staff.